I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a radio communication device. More particularly, the present invention relates to an antenna element mount.
II. Description of the Related Art
As manufacturers reduce the size of wireless communication devices, new locations in the device must be found to mount items. FIG. 1 illustrates a typical radio. This radio, like most, requires a movable antenna element (101) mounted in the case (102) that extends up through the case (102). This antenna (101) can be fixed in length or telescoping, thus allowing the length to be adjusted by the user.
Most radios also require shielding (105 and 108) around printed circuit boards (110 and 115) or substrates to prevent radio frequency emissions from escaping the radio or certain portions of the radio. These RF emissions can affect other circuits within the radio or interfere with circuits outside the radio. The shields (105 and 108), however, make it difficult to reduce the size of radios since they require a relatively large amount of volume and must also be sealed off from the rest of the radio to shield effectively. This precludes mounting an antenna through the shield in order to move the antenna from the location shown in FIG. 1 to reduce the width of the radio. There is a resulting need for a way to mount an antenna in a radio or radiotelephone that reduces the volume needed while maintaining any shielding integrity.